


Magic Day (Extended Cut)

by chiasmus



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Mentor/Protégé
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 11:52:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8889742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiasmus/pseuds/chiasmus
Summary: Scenes from the montage the Adventure Zone fast forwarded through of Taako teaching Angus the arcane arts.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brampersandon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brampersandon/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide! Many of the things you mentioned liking about this particular dynamic are things I like about them, so I hope this comes close to delivering what you had in mind for this prompt.

Angus has an eye for patterns, a sharp memory, and a penchant for knuckling down and thinking his way through any situation, just like his fictional hero, Caleb Cleveland. This has shaped how he approaches situations both mysterious and mundane, since there’s no such thing as too much practice. There’s nothing quite like having the pieces fall together via the methodical process of assembling facts and playing through logical, probable scenarios in his mind.

It is a wonder that his real life heroes are so very different. Particularly Taako. 

“I have a lot to learn from him,” Angus resolves aloud to himself, alone in his room.

— 

Magic makes sense on paper. Then nothing happens. Or, well, as shown during his first lesson with Taako, terrible, terrible things happen. Scary, twitchy things.

Angus buries his trepidation as he shows up the second day. He shows up at the time he and Taako agreed upon the day before — eleven — and conjures several more floppy mage hands with increasing numbers of fingers until Taako comes in, yawning, close to noon. 

“Hello, sir!” Angus accompanies his greeting with a big wave. One of the hands he conjured with three and a half fingers flops knuckles over wrist toward Taako, who kicks it away. 

“You’re here early,” Taako observes. 

“Well, sir, we talked about meeting at eleven—” 

“Yes, but eleven _moon_ time.” 

Angus’ brow furrows. “There’s not a difference, it’s definitely still past—” 

Taako airily waves a hand. “Never mind that. We’ve got a lot of work to do unless you’re planning to keep this hand horror shop of yours in business.” 

“Yes, sir!” Angus takes out his pad and pen, leaning forward toward Taako.

Taako sighs. Taako sighs a lot, Angus has noticed, when he’s ready to teach. “Today’s lesson is going to be about everything you can do with magic.” 

Angus’ teeth worry his lower lip. “That's very broad. Don’t you think I should master Mage Hand before we—” 

Suddenly Taako is less than a foot away and bearing down on him. “Are _you_ questioning _me_ , little man?” 

Angus gulps. “N-no, sir, of course not!”

“The point is, the only limits you have are your imagination, your magical ability, and whatever you can fit in your boy shorts,” Taako says, then pulls some butter out of his pocket and offers it to Angus.

Angus takes the handful of butter as Taako says, “Time to go over materials.” 

— 

They go over the spell Grease. Mostly Angus ends up casting small squares of butter around the room, with larger splatters of butter on his pants and shoes from a few times when Taako catches him off-guard and casts the spell after asking him to go pick up something. 

“Whoa!” Angus exclaims, arms pinwheeling as he tries to keep his balance. He almost manages, but he lands on his butt and slides a little on the slick surface of the floor.

Taako laughs. “Score another one for Taako!” 

Angus looks up at Taako. “Should we go over other materials than butter?” 

“Why? Like in cooking, it’s one of the only ones that really _matters_.” 

Angus cocks his head to one side. “You use it a lot in your spellcasting, then?” 

“Well, I’ve used it a lot today, haven’t I?” 

He has a point, Angus supposes. 

— 

The next couple lessons progress as Taako showing different spells to Angus to give him an idea of what he will be able to do once he has studied more, mixed in with the cantrips Taako gives Angus to work on on his own. 

“Sir, I have a question.” 

“I have a sock.” 

Angus blinks, nonplussed. “What? Do you need another one?” 

Taako points the Umbra Staff at Angus. “No. Good question. Let’s move on to seeing what happens if I levitate you and bounce you around the moon.” 

Angus gulps. “That sounds like a lot of fun, sir, but that wasn’t my original question.” 

“Then spit it out, you’re not going to be around forever,” Taako says.

“Well, I was thinking about all the cool spells I’ve seen and heard you do, but how do you know which ones are the best ones to use in the moment, for yourself and your friends?” 

“You decide what you want to do, and you do it,” Taako says. 

“But what about—” 

Taako scowls. “WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT QUESTIONING ME?” 

Angus’ stomach drops. The last thing he would want to do is offend Taako. “Oh, god, I’m so—” 

Taako laughs and slaps Angus on the back. The force of the slap, though companionable, pushes Angus a few steps forward and he pivots so he’s still facing Taako. Taako doesn’t miss a beat as he says, “I’m only kidding. Yeah, sometimes there are other people in your party and they have opinions, I guess, but you don’t need to let them hold you back. If anything, it’s up to you to carry them along because you can’t shake them despite your best efforts.” 

Angus taps his finger to his chin and nods as he turns Taako’s words over in his mind. He’ll need to ponder them more, but for the moment, he says, “That makes sense. It’s like when someone else is having trouble figuring out clues and you need to nudge them forward a little.” 

Taako makes a face. “Just keep it loose, and do whatever you need to keep yourself in one piece. You’re not going to help anyone if you’re dead. Probably,” he says. 

— 

As the week progresses, Angus still cannot quite get a fully formed mage hand. The spell is not hard, but as with his previous attempts, the magic he musters just doesn’t seem to be _enough_. What if he isn’t cut out to be a wizard? If he can’t even get a cantrip off right, what hope does he have to do all the cool spells that Taako keeps showing him off? 

Angus kicks dejectedly at the small pile of ash left on the ground from the Fire Bolt spell. He did not get any fire out of it. His lips crease in a frown; he has expected to be further along by now, since Taako’s been giving him such great tips. 

“Oh, fuck,” Taako mutters. 

Three quick steps later, Taako’s hand falls on Angus’ shoulder, gripping to turn him around. Angus’ eyes fix on a point between their feet. Taako grips Angus’ face between his hands, so Angus is forced to look up at him. “I haven’t put in 280 hours into this to see you give up now.” 

“We’ve only been practicing six days.” 

“Really? It seems like so much longer. Anyway, even more reason to keep at it, you’ve barely even begun.” 

“You think so?” 

“I know so. You’ve got to crawl before you can swim.” 

Angus nods, biting his lower lip. “I’m still just worried I don’t have enough magic in me. I know in the first lesson you said it was there all along, but it doesn't seem like I'm getting better.” 

Taako sighs. “Well, you’re still doing somethings out of nothings. Like this shitty Fire Bolt came out of you, so there’s something there,” he says firmly, “that’s all you. We’ll have you on fire before this week is over.” 

Angus stands up straighter and nods. “Thank you, sir, I’ll definitely keep at it!” he chirps. Taako believes in him. He can do this. 

Taako says, “That’s the spirit.” 

— 

Angus is almost on fire—literally—the next day as he works on Prestidigitation with Taako. There are strings of web holding his legs against the floor and Taako has lit a small fire next to his feet. Squirming against the web, unable to free his legs by force alone, Angus asks, “A-are you sure this is safe?” 

Taako sits in a chair at a table, drumming his fingers on the surface. “Perfectly. Especially if you get yourself out of this before the web lights on fire. It’s flammable.”

“I know that,” Angus says absently, since he has studied up on spells each night. It must be a trick of his mind that it seems like the fire grows a little larger. 

The rising nervousness is difficult to quell, but he trusts Taako and they’re safe on the moon base. Best to master this now before he’s in a real scrape that he needs to escape. “Prestidigitation, right?” he says, following that with the words of the spell, gesturing toward the fire with his hand. Nothing happens.

“That's what you should do, and what you just didn't do,” Taako says. 

Angus takes a deep breath. He repeats the words of the spell and the gesture, louder and more confidently, as though he can repel the fire from him. The fire gets smaller, though not quite extinguished yet. Angus’ confidence grows, and he goes through the spell one more time.

The small fire goes out. 

“I did it!” Angus exclaims, jerking against the web and pulling himself free. “I did it!” He jumps up, dancing excitedly around the smouldering wood on the floor, and runs over to Taako beaming at him. 

The corners of Taako's mouth twitch into a small smile. “Bravo. Let’s keep working.” 

Angus nods, rocking back and forth on his heels, the boost of energy not quite diffused. “Yes, sir!” 

Taako stands, pats him on the head, and pushes Angus back away from him. “Then do that. Over there.” 

— 

That night Angus masters Produce Flame on his own. Now that the pieces have slid into place, the possibilities seem endless. The next day, their week and a half practicing magic together draws to a close with a mystery. Angus can’t wait to crack it, and to learn more spells to show Taako and make him proud. One day Angus will be a great wizard, all thanks to his very good friend and the greatest wizard he knows, Taako.


End file.
